Using Analytics to Optimize The Clinical Development Process

By David Kiger

November 17, 2015

A recent Bloomberg article discussed how the misuse of web advertising data may have caused companies to waste billions of dollars in this year alone. Given today’s hunger to base business decisions on solid data, it was a good reminder of how important it is to know where your data is coming from and what it really means.

In the pharmaceuticals industry, Clinical Development Optimization process for both operational and scientific execution will make clinical trials more efficient. Additionally, Clinical Development Optimization process will make sure — even before trials begin — that they are taking place in the most appropriate parts of the world, using the best trial subjects, and are performed to the highest standards.

A massive investment in clinical optimization ensures the data comes from a wide variety of verified internal and external sources. Predictive analytics is layered on top of the master data to ensure the right decision is made whether in the selection of a site or the surfacing of a critical risk finding. Efficiency in the clinical development process is created when a cross functional team accesses a common area for risks, data anomalies, and outliers that may require operational intervention.

This only makes a smart business case when having a comprehensive view of all the data, as well as sound, accurate processes for collecting, interpreting, and reporting the data points for each business decision being made. That is information that can only come from an environment with end-to-end data standards and non-stop process optimization.

All of which leads back to the basics of always knowing where the data is coming from, who is collecting and reporting it, how it is to be used, and how many ways it is cross-checked for accuracy. Because no matter what industry you are in, if you’re going to make real-world business decisions based on data, knowing that the data is accurate, pertinent, and repeatedly verifiable is the only way to know whether your money is being spent wisely versus just being spent.